Changes to York U’s Work/Study program means more students eligible to participate

The Work/Study program at York University provides on-campus, part-time employment opportunities to eligible undergraduate students. Work/Study positions support the University’s experiential learning framework by enabling undergraduate student engagement in leadership, research and career development opportunities that will complement their classroom experience and contribution to university life. The program has undergone some changes that introduce new opportunities and open eligibility to a broader range of students.

Among the updates to the Work/Study program are:

  • the amalgamation of the former York Engaged Students (YES) program and the College Life at York (CLAY) program into the new Leadership, Engagement & Ambassadorship (LEAP) program. LEAP supports high-profile contributions and engagement activities on campus that are focused on such things as recruitment, peer mentoring and ambassadorship;
  • the expansion of opportunities to a larger segment of the undergraduate student population, including part-time and full-time domestic students and full-time international students; and
  • the removal of financial need as a criterion for eligibility (although all student applicants will still be required to complete a Student Financial Profile for program eligibility assessment purposes).

The Work/Study and Research at York (RAY) programs remain part of the Work/Study student employment offerings:

  • Work/Study offers a broad range of opportunities that allow students to acquire the competencies, skills and knowledge needed to prepare them for the working world.
  • RAY enhances the research culture of the University and the undergraduate student academic experience, as students can gain valuable research experience from faculty or senior/graduate students.

Participation in the Becoming YU program is an integral part of the Work/Study and LEAP programs at York. The goal of the partnership between the Work/Study program and Becoming YU is to ensure that students are provided with meaningful experiences that focus on mentorship opportunities, professional and personal skills development, application of knowledge, an expanded network, ownership and responsibility of work, self-awareness, reflection and contribution to York University as a whole. As such, job submissions will be approved based on how well the described work meets these learning outcomes.

With the expansion of the Work/Study program to part-time and international undergraduates, more students can now reap the benefits of the Becoming YU program.

Instructions for and information about all Work/Study programs, including program manuals, eligibility criteria, terms and conditions, instructions on how to submit positions on the Experience York system, sample job descriptions and reimbursement rates are available on the Employment Administrators website.

Faculty members and administrative units that are interested in applying for RAY positions should refer to the submission instructions outlined in the RAY program manual, which is available on the Employment Administrators website.

Interested units and departments are invited to submit their requests now on the Experience York web portal.

  • The deadline for entering all job requests is Friday, July 12.
  • Position decisions will be sent by email the week of Aug. 2.
  • Hiring units must submit a separate job posting for each position they would like approved.
  • Approved positions are eligible for partial reimbursement, assuming all conditions have been met.

For questions related to the programs, contact wspost@yorku.ca for LEAP and Work/Study programs and raypost@yorku.ca for the RAY program.